


This Christmas

by jjokkomi



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-13
Updated: 2017-05-13
Packaged: 2018-10-31 09:41:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10896681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjokkomi/pseuds/jjokkomi
Summary: This Christmas Jongin’s friends set him up on a blind date. Embarrassment ensues.





	This Christmas

Kim Jongin doesn’t mind being single. He’s never been one of those people that _needs_ to constantly have a significant other. He’s completely content not having someone to hold hands with, to not have someone to text good morning to or to share popcorn at the movie theater with.  
  
But, as he sits in the library with his set of friends, each of them having a significant other, he feels kind of left out.  
  
Like he’s missing out on something really nice.  
  
Awkwardly he looks up from his math textbook and discreetly takes a look at each of them.  
  
Seulgi, his best friend since high school, has been with a girl she met during welcome week, Seungwan for three months. They’re currently giggling quietly amongst themselves while doodling on each other. He actually thinks it’s some kind of anatomy studying (they’re both pre-med) but, they make it look enjoyable.  
  
Baekhyun, one of his roommate’s is staring at his girlfriend, Joohyun and completely ignoring the flashcards he’s _supposed_ to be making. Joohyun is studying, but occasionally she gives her boyfriend a tiny smile before going back to her notes. They’re in that puppy love phase that is 89% gross 11% cute.  
  
Jongdae, his cousin, is probably the only one getting any work done. His girlfriend Sunyoung is sleeping on her backpack, having pulled an all-nighter a day prior for her final that was today. Every now and then Jongdae will check on her though.  
  
Even if they aren’t being very couple-y right now, it’s obvious by the way they’re all sitting that he’s the awkward seventh wheel in the group.  
  
Most of the time Jongin can ignore the little feeling of loneliness that settles into the pit of his stomach when he sees them all together. But days like today it’s hard to ignore it, put it in the back of his mind and concentrate on other things that make him happy.  
  
Sighing he looks back down at his notes, splashes of orange and green highlighter popping out to him. He should really study, he has two finals tomorrow and then one the day after, but his mind is wandering and he knows any attempt to read his notes won’t do him any good.  
  
Setting his stuff aside he grabs at his water bottle, taking a sip and then clearing his throat.  
  
“I don’t have a date for the Christmas party,” he blurts, gaining everyone’s attention save Sunyoung who is now snoring in her sleep.  
  
He shifts in his seat, biting his lip and waiting for someone to say something. Seulgi happens to be the first.  
  
“You don’t need a date. It’s not like dates are mandatory,” she tells him, smiling reassuringly.  
  
“Yeah, no one is going to kick you out for not having a date. It’s a Christmas party, not the sock-hop,” Jongdae throws in without looking up from his book and notes.  
  
Jongin fiddles with his hands, foot tapping anxiously as he waits for someone to take the hint.  
  
It just so happens to be Baekhyun.  
  
“Wait. I think he’s saying he _wants_ a date?” Baekhyun questions, gaining everyone’s full attention. “Maybe. Am I right? Hot or cold!” the blond shouts, earning them several glares and shushes from the people nearby.  
  
Jongin coughs, scratching the back of his head while shrugging.  
  
“Um. Hot I guess…,” he trails off, looking around nervously. “I wouldn’t _mind_ a date…” he confesses.  
  
It would certainly be nice to have someone to hang out with while his friends are being so very much in love right in front of his face.  
  
“Are you asking us to set you up?” Seulgi questions excitedly, the girls that are actually awake looking at him with a shimmer in their eyes.  
  
It’s kind of terrifying.  
  
“Um…well….”  
  
“A blind date!!” Seungwan exclaims, immediately grabbing her cell phone and scrolling through her contacts.  
  
“Who do we know that’s single?”  
  
“And gay,” Joohyun adds in, grabbing her phone as well.  
  
“You guys don’t have to, I mean I’m sure I can find someone,” Jongin speaks up only to be ignored, the girls in a circle huddled together going through their phone contacts.  
  
Jongin pouts, looking towards his hyung’s for help but Jongdae is already back to his homework and Baekhyun is still staring at his girlfriend.  
  
“It’s okay guys you really don’t have to,” he adds in a little louder this time, only to still be ignored.  
  
“What about Taeminnie?” Seulgi questions, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.  
  
“It doesn’t work if he _knows_ the person. That’s not a blind date,” Joohyun interrupts before he can even open his mouth to reply.  
  
“Unnie’s right, it has to be someone he’s never met,” Seungwan agrees wholeheartedly.  
  
Jongin sighs dramatically, kind of regretting saying anything in the first place. Seulgi and Seungwan always put 101% effort into _everything_ and now that he’s got them _excited_ they’re going to be overenthusiastic and make his life miserable.  
  
Tiredly he slumps into his chair and leans forward so his chin is resting on the desk they’re at. His eyes are starting to droop when Baekhyun yells.  
  
“Kyungsoo!” the elder shouts, looking like a lightbulb just went off in his head.  
  
Jongdae laughs. Actually _laughs_ , hand claps and all at the blond before sobering up.  
  
“Wait. You’re serious. _Kyungsoo?_ ” Jongdae questions incredulously, looking at Baekhyun like he’s lost his marbles.  
  
Jongin watches with a frown.  
  
“What’s wrong with Kyungsoo?” he wonders outload.  
  
“There’s _nothing_ wrong with him,” Baekhyun answers, giving him a look then turning back to Jongdae. “Yes, Kyungsoo. He’s single. And he’s _hopeless_. C’mon you know it’s a good idea.”  
  
“You really think Kyungsoo would _want_ to get set up on a blind date? Do you have a death wish?” Jongdae snorts, shaking his head at Baekhyun.  
  
“Kyungsoo is so pathetically single, why not?” Baekhyun presses.  
  
“Because he doesn’t like people butting into his love life?” Joohyun interrupts, giving Baekhyun a confused look.  
  
“She’s _right_ ,” Jongdae sighs, shaking his head. “Do you really think he’d agree?”  
  
“Maybe. Maybe not. But, tell me he and Jongin wouldn’t be adorable together and I’ll drop it,” Baekhyun huffs, crossing his arms and having a stare down with Jongdae.  
  
Jongin watches silently, not knowing what to even say on the matter. He doesn’t even think anyone would listen to him at this point. They seem pretty intent on finding him a date now. And Baekhyun seems like he’s already made up his mind on it being this Kyungsoo person they know.  
  
Jongdae sighs loudly, gaining his attention. His cousin nibbles on his lip a little before cracking a smile.  
  
“The height difference alone would be nice to look at. Kyungsoo will be huffy about it.”  
  
“See!” Baekhyun shouts, getting shushed, yet _again_ by people around them. “They’re both huge dorks it’s a match made in heaven. I’m actually ashamed I didn’t think of this before.”  
  
“You really think Kyungsoo will tell you he’s up for it?” Joohyun questions skeptically, not looking the least bit convinced.  
  
“Pft, hell no. _Jongdae’s_ going to be the one to ask him, he’ll probably try and kill _me_ ,” Baekhyun snorts.  
  
“Yah! Why am I the one that has to ask?” Jongdae whines, slumping in his chair defeated.  
  
“Because Kyungsoo likes you more than me. He’ll put up with _your_ whining not mine,” Baekhyun states plainly, rolling his eyes as if it’s obvious.  
  
Jongin is just completely lost as to what is going on now.  
  
“Fine. I’ll ask him,” Jongdae finalizes, nodding his head before going back to his work.  
  
Jongin supposes he has a date now.  
  
  
  
  
  
\--  
  
  
  
  
  
Do Kyungsoo is a college junior, double majoring in Music and Accounting. He would just major in music, like he wants, but his parents don’t want him living with them until he’s thirty, so he’s got to have a "real major," as they say. Through his music major is how Jongdae met the younger boy though.  
  
He along with Baekhyun had taken an intro to music theory class their freshman year and the two had met Kyungsoo.  
  
Well, _everyone_ met Kyungsoo that day. The poor kid had literally _stumbled_ into the classroom, interrupting the professor going over the syllabus and had caused the entire class to crack up.  
  
The boy had turned as red as a radish before taking the only available seat next to him. Jongdae had felt bad for the poor kid and given him his syllabus.  
  
Three group projects and two years later, he can say he’s one of Kyungsoo’s closest friends. Since Kyungsoo is double majoring he’s often busy and in different buildings all day. So he hasn’t seen him as much since finals started, but they still talk.  
  
Jongin has never met Kyungsoo. Although they have plenty of mutual friends, the two have actually never been in the same room as each other. It just happened that way. Jongdae’s not really sure _how_ they haven’t met yet, but they haven’t.  
  
And as long as Jongdae’s known Do Kyungsoo, he’s never seen the younger boy with an actual boyfriend. His dates always go horribly wrong in some kind of way and any attempt at flirting is just an awkward mess.  
  
Jongdae’s _seen_ Kyungsoo try and flirt. He wishes he hadn’t.  
  
Kyungsoo is the epitome of awkward. His love life is nonexistent because of this.  
  
It’s not like people have never tried to intervene though, because they have.  
  
Kyungsoo’s best friends, Joonmyun, another accounting major, and Minseok, a finance major, are always trying to get the younger boy to date. But, Kyungsoo is about as stubborn as a horse and never complies.  
  
When he _does_ it always goes horrible. Kyungsoo spills something on his date. Kyungsoo has an allergic reaction to almonds. Kyungsoo manages to scare his date when he forgets his glasses. The list goes on.  
  
So Jongdae has never even thought to set Kyungsoo up with his cousin. But Baekhyun is right. They _would_ look cute together. The fact that Jongin is probably about as socially inept as Kyungsoo helps.  
  
He just has to convince the red head to go through with it.  
  
Currently Kyungsoo is staking his tater tots, looking so done with life as he does so. Finals have probably already fried his brain. All that math can’t be healthy, he thinks.  
  
“So, you’re going to Joonmyun’s Christmas party, right?” he questions, dabbing his pizza because he knows if he eats it with all that grease he’s going to regret it later.  
  
“I might rewatch the entirety of Lost instead. Not sure,” Kyungsoo replies, cursing when his tater tot mountain falls.  
  
“C’mon Soo, it’s Christmas. Sunyoung and I already got you a gift. You’re _going_ ,” he states sternly, shaking his greased out napkin at the boy.  
  
“What kind of gift?” Kyungsoo questions, looking up through his glasses, his left brow twitching in curiosity.  
  
“A great gift. The best gift in the history of gifts,” he replies, taking a bite of pizza and smiling.  
  
Kyungsoo purses his lips before sighing, nodding his head in defeat. “Fine, I’ll go.”  
  
“Great! I got you a date too,” he rushes out before shoving more food into his mouth as a distraction.  
  
“You what?!” Kyungsoo wails, his eyes nearly popping out of the frame of his glasses. “Do you want me to die?!”  
  
Jongdae rolls his eyes. “You’re not going to _die_ because of a blind date.”  
  
“Jongdae, I _literally_ almost died the last time I went on a date! My throat closed up!” Kyungsoo argues, shaking his head before going back to stack his tots.  
  
“So don’t eat almonds and you won’t almost die. C’mon, it’s my cousin. Remember, the one I told you about? Jongin?”  
  
Kyungsoo stares at the elder skeptically. “Didn’t Baekhyun call him a Taemin knock off?”  
  
“Baekhyun is _literally_ dating a girl that looks like his ex if you squint. He has _no_ room to talk,” Jongdae scoffs.  
  
“True,” Kyungsoo mumbles, sighing before popping a tater tot in his mouth. He really needs to finish eating so he can go study for his last final.  
  
“Please? He’s really nice. He’s lonely. You’re lonely. Be lonely together?”  
  
“I’m _not_ lonely,” Kyungsoo denies, grumbling to himself as he continues to eat.  
  
“Kyungsoo, you spend most of your days studying. When you’re not studying you’re stacking old books in the library. When you’re not doing that you stay in your room and talk to your turtle.”  
  
“Leonardo _loves_ when I talk to him,” Kyungsoo mumbles mostly to himself.  
  
He should have expected something like this to happen, he decides. It’s been a while since someone has tried setting him up on a date. Last time it was Minseok, who set him up with a Chemistry major who talked about guitars the whole time.  
  
He was literally that cliché douche that plays wonder wall at every party he goes to. It was _horrible_. On top of the boringness of it all, he found out the hard way he was allergic to almonds.  
  
He spent the remainder of the night in the hospital recovering.  
  
Since then his friends have let up on the set ups and dates and he’s been thankful. He isn’t that great at social interaction so dates are not his forte.  
  
But it is Christmas soon, and he supposes he might as well just get it over with. When he does something incredibly embarrassing or it goes horribly wrong, at least there’s alcohol at the party and he can spend the rest of his winter break wallowing in self-pity at home.  
  
“He… _wants_ …to be my date?” he questions skeptically, nervous about an actual _blind_ _date_.  
  
He has no idea what Jongin even _looks_ like. He’s heard stories about him from Jongdae of course, but when it comes down to it, Jongin is a complete stranger to him. It does nothing to settle his nerves.  
  
“Jongin doesn’t want to go alone. So yes. He wants to be your date,” Jongdae replies, giving him a reassuring smile. “If you’re nervous I can give him your number. You two can talk beforehand so it’s not as nerve wrecking, okay?”  
  
Kyungsoo nibbles on his lip, contemplating it before nervously nodding his head. He can handle texting because he actually has time to make sure he doesn’t sound like an idiot.  
  
“Great! I’ll tell him to contact you after finals are over,” Jongdae chirps before changing the subject.  
  
Kyungsoo makes a mental note to tell Joonmyun to ban almonds from the party.  
  
  
  
  
  
\--  
  
  
  
  
  
Kyungsoo rooms with Joonmyun and Minseok, his two best friends since his freshman year. Minseok and Joonmyun were his RA’s when he lived in the dorms and since he was so shy and awkward, they spent a lot of time with him since it was hard to make friends.  
  
Luckily Minseok was similar to him, quiet and tidy and being an upperclassman he was always helping him around the campus. Kyungsoo is thankful for that.  
  
Where Minseok is tidy and clean, Joonmyun is a disorganized mess who probably has a new type of mold growing under his bed. So Kyungsoo was the one helping _him_ when it came to their business classes.  
  
He taught the elder how to organize his notes and Joonmyun has been the doting pseudo older brother he never really asked for ever since.  
  
When Kyungsoo became a sophomore they all decided to room together at one of the apartments close to campus. It’s a nice three bedroom and the rent is reasonable.  
  
To help pay for the apartment and other necessities he needs, Kyungsoo works part time at the library with Minseok and the elder’s boyfriend, Luhan. The two met during freshman year when they were assigned to be roommates and well, they got together pretty quickly.  
  
Currently Minseok is out with said boyfriend Christmas shopping and Joonmyun is probably spending time at the library studying for his last final.  
  
Kyungsoo however, had his last final this morning. It was brutal and he’s pretty sure he got some terms confused but, it’s over and done with and regardless of what he makes on the test, he got a solid B in the class.  
  
So he’s in his room, snuggled with his favorite blanket watching Big Hero 6 for the millionth time while stuffing his face and waiting to cry.  
  
There’s bound to be snot running down his nose and his eyes are probably going to get as red as can be, but, after the stress that is finals Kyungsoo just needs a good cry. It’s so sad and depressing watching Hiro’s brother _fucking blow up out of nowhere_ that he usually cries.  
  
There’s no shame in it, a lot of people get drunk when finals are over. Kyungsoo, not being big on drinking, cries his frustrations out while stuffing his face with food.  
  
Again, absolutely nothing wrong with it. _It’s **healthy** to cry_ , he reminds himself.  
  
But, he does lock his door, because he doesn’t want to relive his brother walking in on him sobbing to prince of tennis ever again. Seungsoo made fun of him for a whole _month_.  
  
He nearly throws his laptop when his phone rings, startling him as he blindly reaches for it. When he sees the screen he can’t quite make out the number, his vision blurry but he answers it anyways, trying to keep the tremble out of his voice.  
  
“He-hello?” he hiccups, a fresh set of tears making their way towards his eyes because it just _gets_ to him. Every. Damn. Time.  
  
“Um….is this Do Kyungsoo?” a low voice questions but he’s having trouble paying attention to the movie and the phone at the same time.  
  
His eyes are focused on the screen, and his brain is dead set on paying attention to the movie which is about to make him bawl.  
  
“Ye- _yes_ ,” he sobs out, his brain associating _everything_ _sad_ **_ever_** to the one scene making him cry like he just got told he has to give a speech in front of an entire auditorium. Or that his precious Leonardo has died.  
  
“Are…..are you okay?” the voice questions, sounding quite concerned but he isn’t paying attention to that.  
  
He’s paying attention to the movie because Tadashi just fucking blew up, went into a burning building to be a hero and _fucking blew up_.  
  
“ _No_ ,” he wails out, clutching his phone and staring at the screen with blurry vision, his glasses fogging up slightly.  
  
He’s dead. He’s super fucking _dead_. He just died. Out of nowhere. In a _children’s_ movie.  
  
“Um…uh…Jongdae said I should call but maybe I shouldn’t have, god, this is so uncomfortable I don’t know what to do. Did you like, find out your grandma died or something? Oh my god was it a dog?! _Please_ tell me it wasn’t a dog,” the voice stutters out awkwardly and his brain picks up on the name _Jongdae_ and he’s remembering something.  
  
Jongdae saying something to him yesterday, his brain starts to process.  
  
Confused he starts to sober up, realizing he’s _fucking_ _bawling_ into the phone his eyes widen, pulse picking up in anxiety.  
  
“Who is th-this?” he stutters out, pausing the movie on his laptop and growing confused and embarrassed, sniffling and searching for the box of tissues he keeps handy.  
  
“Jongin, um, Kim Jongin, Jongdae’s cousin,” the person informs him and his brain finally lets him aware of the situation.  
  
_Jongin. Kim Jongin. Jongdae’s cousin. The one you have a blind date with in three days. The one who just currently heard you bawling your eyes out_ , his brain informs him and his eyes widen in horror.  
  
He _screams_ , the situation finally dawning on him and he throws his phone across the room before shuffling out of his bed and rushing to lock himself in the closet.  
  
  
  
  
  
\--  
  
  
  
  
  
“Hello?”  
  
Jongin frowns, awkwardly staring at his phone as a dial tone starts up before he hits the end call button.  
  
“So how’d it go?” Seulgi questions, coming into his room with a bowl of popcorn.  
  
“He….was crying?” he questions out loud, not believing that Jongdae set him up with some emotional wreck who was sobbing into the phone.  
  
He nearly blew his eardrum out with that scream at the end too.  
  
“You’re joking,” Seulgi says seriously, looking concerned.  
  
“No…but…I call right? And he answers and he’s _crying_. He was _sobbing_. Jesus, what if his dog died,” he whispers out, feeling his own eyes prickle with tears.  
  
Seulgi stares incredulously.  
  
“Like what if his lifelong friend just died oh my god should I go see if he’s okay? What if his cat has to have surgery?! Or his dog has to be put down?!” Jongin shouts, all these horrible scenarios running through his head.  
  
“Jongin…fucking chill,” Seulgi states plainly, throwing a couple of kernels at the elder with a disgusted face.  
  
“But he was crying! Something horrible must have happened!” Jongin protests with wide eyes.  
  
Seulgi sighs before walking out of the room and going back towards the living room. Jongin is hopeless.  
  
  
  
  
  
\--  
  
  
  
  
  
Minseok walks into the library with a yawn, tired from the constant studying he has been doing this past week. Finals are pretty much over with and it’s only the few unlucky that have them today. Sighing he shakes his head, his bag strap slipping off his shoulder as he goes behind the checkout counter.  
  
He tosses it towards the book return shelf carelessly and pauses when he hears low singing coming from said box.  
  
Dumbly he stares at it, there being a door to the shelf at the bottom where they open and collect the books people drop off. It’s about as high as his waist, so he supposes a person _could_ fit in it, but no one _sane_ _enough_ would actually hang out in there.  
  
Confused he shuffles towards it, hearing someone singing and then it clicks.  
  
_“You used to call me on my cell phone.”_  
  
Sighing Minseok shakes his head, opening the door and seeing Kyungsoo curled up in the corner with his head resting on the edge, a blank look on his face as his lips move.  
  
_“Late night when you need my love.”_  
  
“Kyungsoo, I love you, but it’s _very_ hard not to judge you right now,” he sighs out, watching as the younger boy notices him, his eyes a little watery making him even more concerned than he already is.  
  
“What’s wrong?” he questions softly, knowing Kyungsoo gets very emotional when he’s stressed out. He bends down and gets to his level, watching as the younger boys lips tremble like a scared bunny.  
  
“Jongdae set me up on a blind date,” Kyungsoo whispers, fixing his glasses before putting his hands back in his lap.  
  
“Okay,” he replies slowly, not seeing why this is a crying level response.  
  
“He gave him my number.”  
  
“Did he not call you or?” he questions, looking around and making sure no one is watching. Their coworkers will probably think he’s mental. Well, even more so than they probably already think.  
  
“No…he called me…..I was _crying_ ….I want to **_die_** ,” Kyungsoo mumbles dramatically, whining while hitting his head repetitively on the wall.  
  
Minseok rolls his eyes.  
  
“You were watching Big Hero 6 again, weren’t you?” he accuses, shaking his head when Kyungsoo nods sadly.  
  
“You already know he’s about to die, you shouldn’t get sad over it anymore,” he reasons, watching as fire lights up in Kyungsoo’s eyes.  
  
“HE WAS JUST TRYING TO BE A GOOD GUY AND HE BLEW UP. HE DIED. HE LEFT BEHIND HIS BABY BROTHER BECAUSE HE _DIED_ ,” Kyungsoo shouts, thumping his head on the top of the return box and wincing.  
  
Minseok stares, “So you answered the phone while crying?” he questions.  
  
Kyungsoo nods.  
  
Minseok closes the door, standing up and grabbing the mouse for the computer at the front desk. He logs out Kyungsoo, seeing as how the boy is having a crisis and won’t be doing his job for a while.  
  
When Kyungsoo has decided to stop wallowing in self-pity he’ll get him to go stack some books.  
  
Humming along to Kyungsoo’s dramatic singing he sets up the return scanner, opening up the internet browser to search for a recipe. He needs to make cookies for Joonmyun’s party and he’s run out of ideas.  
  
_“Is it too late now to say sorry?_  
  
Minseok perks up when he notices someone walking towards the desk, seeing that it’s Jongin he smiles and gives a tiny wave. He’s always liked Jongdae’s cousin.  
  
“Hey, Minseok hyung,” Jongin chirps, a smile on his face as he sets several large books down on the desk. “I need to return these. I think they’re a little late.”  
  
_“Cause I'm missing more than just your body”_  
  
Minseok blushes, staring down at where Kyungsoo is hidden and shaking his head in embarrassment.  
  
“Uh, is the drop off box singing?” Jongin questions, the smile fading from his face and being replaced with a confused concerned look.  
  
_“Yeah I know that I let you down. Is it too late to say I'm sorry now?”_  
  
“He uh, had a rough week,” Minseok excuses, taking the books from the younger boy and checking them back in.  
  
“Oh,” Jongin replies, staring at the rectangular hole made to put the books through and smiling lightly because whoever has shoved themselves inside is now making the sound effects for the song he’s singing.  
  
“You have a lovely voice,” he compliments, feeling awkward that he’s talking to a hole in the shelf.  
  
When he looks up he sees Minseok giving him an incredulous judging look that has him blushing, standing up straight immediately and awkwardly laughing.  
  
_“Thank you kind stranger,”_ the box replies.  
  
“Don’t encourage him,” Minseok tells him, shaking his head before shooing him away. “I’ll wave the fine if you don’t tell anyone about the idiot in the box,” he states.  
  
Jongin laughs again while nodding. “Will do,” he replies before turning around and heading back towards the exit where Baekhyun and Jongdae are waiting for him.  
  
Minseok sighs when Kyungsoo stops singing, walking over and opening the box to see Kyungsoo with an actual smile on his face.  
  
“Okay, now I’m _really_ concerned for you. Do I need to make an appointment with the school’s counseling center?” he questions, squatting down and praying he doesn’t get caught.  
  
“He said I sing well,” Kyungsoo whispers giddily, his eyes scrunching up cutely.  
  
Minseok ends up cracking a smile, knowing Kyungsoo is very self-conscious about his singing. He was probably only able to sing earlier because he’s _hidden_ in a box and obviously having a hard time coping with his embarrassment.  
  
“Yeah, Jongin looked like he meant it,” he replies, shrugging and watching as Kyungsoo sobers up, his eyes enlarging at an alarming rate.  
  
“Did y-you sa-say J-J-Jongin?” Kyungsoo stutters out, his hands shaking.  
  
Minseok frowns while nodding his head. “Yeah, Jongdae’s cousin,” he confirms, nearly falling on his ass as Kyungsoo snatches the knob on the door and slams it shut with a wail.  
  
Groaning Minseok gets off the floor, turning bright red when he sees several girls waiting on him.  
  
“Uh, sorry,” he apologizes, eyes widening when he hears Kyungsoo start up again.  
  
_“Hello.”_  
  
The girls stare incredulously, looking even more freaked out than Jongin did.  
  
_“It’s me.”_  
  
Minseok watches them do the only reasonable thing they _can_ do. Turn the hell around and pretend they never heard anything.  
  
“You’re so _hopeless_ ,” he groans out before grabbing the books Jongin came to return and going to stack them and pray Kyungsoo is done by the time he comes back.  
  
  
  
  
  
\--  
  
  
  
  
  
Jongin fiddles with his cell phone, staring at his caller ID and biting his lip.  
  
It’s apparently been twenty seven hours since he called Kyungsoo, heard the boy bawling like he was mourning the loss of a loved one and gotten hung up on.  
  
He hasn’t told anyone that he tried to call, or what happened because quite frankly, it’s _embarrassing_.  
  
That and it makes him hesitant to even go through with this blind date. His date is probably going to be emotionally distraught the entire time and Jongin is just going to be talking to a vessel who showed up but isn’t even mentally there.  
  
He wanted a date, so he doesn’t feel so lonely while all the couples out there are shoved in his face, but if his date really isn’t into it, he might as well have gone by himself.  
  
“He’s thinking.”  
  
“No way,” Baekhyun mutters causing Jongin to look up from his phone to glare at the elder along with Jongdae who are both staring at him with amused smiles on their lips.  
  
“Thinking of texting Kyungsoo?” Jongdae questions cheerfully, hopping up from their couch and skipping his way over to the dining table where he’s currently sitting.  
  
The three of them room together along with Luhan, a friend of both Baekhyun and Jongdae who honestly freaks Jongin out sometimes, but he’s a good roommate nonetheless.  
  
The foreign student isn’t here at the moment, at his boyfriend’s apartment so it’s just the three of them waiting for pizza to be delivered.  
  
“Um, not really,” he mumbles out, shaking his head and locking his phone before setting it down on the table with a sigh.  
  
“C’mon, just text him and introduce yourself at least. That way you two aren’t completely awkward when you meet,” Baekhyun chirps out before grabbing the remote and turning on the television.  
  
Jongin sighs, sinking into his chair dramatically while staring at his phone.  
  
“Why are you acting like you just lost your favorite underwear?” Jongdae questions.  
  
Jongin’s brows furrow at the comparison, not being able to recall ever telling Jongdae that he _does_ have a favorite pair of underwear. They’re the dragon ball boxers he got as a joke from Baekhyun one year. Turns out the joke was on the elder because Jongin _loved_ them. They’re comfortable.  
  
But that’s beside the point.  
  
“I um, may have called Kyungsoo yesterday,” he whispers hesitantly, looking at Jongdae for a reaction.  
  
“You called him?” Jongdae questions him and he nods in confirmation, biting his lip. “And?”  
  
“And it didn’t go well,” he sighs out, resting his cheek on the cold surface of the table. “I don’t think this is a good idea,” he admits.  
  
“What did he say? Was he mean to you? Do I have to kick his ass?” Jongdae fires out, getting laughed at by Baekhyun.  
  
“You? Kick Kyungsoo’s ass? HA!”  
  
“I can very well kick his ass! Don’t doubt my ass kicking abilities!” Jongdae defends leaving Jongin to sigh dramatically again.  
  
“He wasn’t mean to me,” he speaks up, looking at his phone screen. “I just….don’t think he wants to go with me.”  
  
Jongin assumes that when you call someone and they’re an emotional wreck who screams at you and throws their phone (there was a lot of loud clanking noises) they don’t want to go on a date with you.  
  
Jongdae however scowls, grabbing his phone and making sure he has his keys before standing up.  
  
“Do Kyungsoo is _going_ to be your date and he’s _going_ to like it,” he declares, stomping over towards the door and grabbing his shoes. “I’ll be right back. Save me a slice of pepperoni!”  
  
Jongin frowns in confusion as he watches the elder leave, the door slamming behind him.  
  
“You wanna poke holes in all his condoms?” Baekhyun questions from the couch.  
  
Jongin reconsiders his roommate choices.  
  
  
  
  
  
\--  
  
  
  
  
  
In the Kim and Do residence, they’re currently cooking. Rather, _Minseok_ is on cooking duty this time around while Kyungsoo is in his room and Joonmyun is finally getting around to that spring cleaning he said he would do in April.  
  
Coincidentally, they live in the same complex as Baekhyun, Jongdae and Jongin. They just live closer to the clubhouse whereas the others live towards the pool.  
  
It becomes quite curious when you come to realize that despite Kyungsoo and Jongin living in the same complex for two years, they’ve never ran into each other and they’ve never been in the same room.  
  
Minseok thinks it’s weird, Luhan thinks it’s the perfect start of a romance novel. Luhan also thinks that Star Wars is real, it just hasn’t happened yet.  
  
Yes, Minseok still loves him all the same.  
  
What he doesn’t love is people barging into his apartment without knocking, like Jongdae just did right now.  
  
“Who forgot to lock the door?” he questions, looking at Luhan whose eyes are as wide as can be. In other words: guilty.  
  
“Where is that punk?” Jongdae questions, getting distracted at the heavenly smell coming from the oven and shuffling towards the kitchen. He nearly drools when he sees the chicken parmesan cooking along with some garlic bread.  
  
“I have _got_ to move in with you guys. You actually eat _real_ food,” he praises, forgetting why he came in the first place.  
  
“How you three survive on ramyun and pizza is beyond me,” Minseok replies, shaking his head and grabbing a towel to dry off his hands. “But why are you here?”  
  
Jongdae pauses, getting up off the floor, suddenly remembering.  
  
“Kyungsoo! Where is he, that punk,” he fires out, leaving Minseok confused.  
  
“He’s moping in his room. We’re trying to cheer him up with the Italian food. Poor kid has been singing Adele songs since we got home,” Minseok explains, frowning at Jongdae.  
  
Although he doesn’t show it openly, he’s _very_ protective of the younger boy. Kyungsoo is like rock candy; hard on the outside but completely sweet. He’s just a little awkward introverted bunny and Minseok will _not_ stand for anyone being mean to him while he’s in a moping mode.  
  
“You better not make him upset, he’s having a bad day,” he warns, giving Jongdae a tiny glare.  
  
“ _He’s_ having a bad day? He upset _Jongin!_ ” Jongdae accuses, crossing his arms and growing confused.  
  
“Why would he upset _Jongin? Kyungsoo_ was the one _bawling_ into the phone when he called,” Luhan butts in, trying to sneak a piece of bruschetta and getting his hand slapped by Minseok.  
  
Jongdae suddenly realizes that when Jongin meant it didn’t go well, he meant it _really_ didn’t go well. He called and Kyungsoo was _crying_.  
  
With a groan he drags himself out of the kitchen and marches up to Kyungsoo’s room, opening the door and spotting the boy on his bed, turtle in his hand with his laptop on his bed.  
  
“What did I tell you about watching Big Hero 6?” he questions sternly, crossing his arms and watching as Kyungsoo spots him, his shoulders deflating.  
  
“To not to,” Kyungsoo sighs out, moving to hit pause on the movie he’s watching and setting Leonardo down on the bed.  
  
Jongdae watches as the tiny turtle stays in his spot, Kyungsoo moving to pet his head.  
  
“You upset him. He _loves_ this movie,” Kyungsoo accuses quietly.  
  
Jongdae has learned to ignore the quirkiness.  
  
“Kyungsoo, you cried when Jongin called you?” he questions, moving to close the door and then taking a seat on the bed. He gives a wave to Leonardo but of course gets nothing in return. It’s a _turtle_ after all.  
  
“ _Please_ don’t remind me,” Kyungsoo whines, curling up into a ball and falling over like an egg. “And it gets worse. He heard me _singing_ ,” Kyungsoo shudders, grabbing a pillow and putting it over his head.  
  
Leonardo starts to crawl so Jongdae reaches for him and goes to put him back in his tank, watching him take off into the water.  
  
“Wait. _You’re_ the kid that was singing inside the drop off box in the library?” He questions incredulously, hearing Kyungsoo wail in response.  
  
“Oh Kyungsoo….you’re so hopeless,” he sighs out, shaking his head and moving to lie down next to the scrunched up redhead.  
  
“Jongin peed his pants at the amusement park when he was six,” he states, watching as Kyungsoo’s eyes poke out from underneath his pillow, his glasses crooked as he lies down.  
  
“When he found out Santa wasn’t real he locked himself in his tree house and refused to come out for three hours.”  
  
“You’re both equally embarrassing. Your ass is _going_ to show up tomorrow and you’re _going_ to be _nice_ and keep my cousin company, got it?” he states sternly, sitting up and pulling Kyungsoo with him.  
  
“He has a tree house?” Kyungsoo questions in a tiny voice, eyes looking a little hopeful.  
  
Jongdae smiles. “Yeah, it’s at his parents’ house. But, I’ll let him tell you all this tomorrow. You better shower and look nice,” he warns, getting up and grabbing his phone to check the time.  
  
The pizza should be delivered by now and his stomach is growling. But, Minseok’s food smells heavenly.  
  
“You think Minseok would let me stay for dinner?” he questions, watching Kyungsoo stand up from his bed and fix his pajama bottoms that he’s basically drowning in.  
  
“Apologize to Leonardo and I’ll ask,” Kyungsoo replies, fixing his glasses and smoothing down his hair.  
  
Jongdae groans walking over to the tank and staring at the little turtle who’s chilling on his rock.  
  
“I’m sorry for interrupting your movie,” he apologizes because sanity be damned, he _really_ wants real food.  
  
  
  
  
  
\--  
  
  
  
  
  
Every year Joonmyun has a Christmas party. His parents are filthy rich and their house is perfect for parties.  
  
Usually Kyungsoo tries to avoid Joonmyun’s parties at all cost, but sometimes his friends _make_ him go and this is one of those years.  
  
Minseok woke him up at around nine in the morning and took him out shopping along with Luhan. Kyungsoo hates shopping with the two because they always use him as a guinea pig and make him try on clothes after clothes.  
  
When he got home he was forced to get his hair touched up by Luhan and after he showered was forced to pick out an outfit, despite the fact that the party wasn’t until six.  
  
He puts on a red Christmas sweater with a snowman on it and a pair of jeans they forced him into. Although Minseok tried to get him to wear his contacts, he stuck with his glasses, ignoring the comments.  
  
By the time they head to Joonmyun’s parents place Kyungsoo is a ball of nerves. He nibbles on his nails and anxiously bites on his lips.  
  
He’s so, _so_ , very nervous, because despite being twenty two he’s never had a successful date in his life. They always go horribly wrong and today should be no different.  
  
He’ll probably end up furthering embarrassing himself. He’s pretty sure embarrassing yourself _before_ you even _meet_ your date is a record that he unfortunately broke.  
  
He prays Jongin doesn’t mention anything.  
  
“It’ll be fine. Jongin is really nice, you’ll like him,” Minseok tells him as they wait at the door.  
  
Kyungsoo nods his head, tugging on his sleeves and hiding his hands from the cold. The urge to bite his nails is strong but he’s sure Minseok will slap his hands if he tries.  
  
When the door opens he twitches, forcing a smile on his face when he sees Joonmyun.  
  
“Kyungsoo! Your date is already here!” Joonmyun chirps, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him into the house.  
  
Kyungsoo doesn’t even have time to say hello to anyone they pass, the elder walking too quickly.  
  
When they make it to the kitchen they finally stop and Kyungsoo nearly falls on his ass. There are several tables set up and he sees a couple of people at them.  
  
Kyungsoo recognizes Jongdae and Sunyoung of course along with Taemin and his friend whose name he always forgets. Then there’s Baekhyun and Joohyun, wearing couple sweaters making him want to gag.  
  
And then there’s someone he doesn’t know stuffing his face with chicken wings. He’s got a plate of bones sitting next to him, hands messy with the sauce from the wings.  
  
In one word, it’s disgusting, but Kyungsoo doesn’t voice this. Instead he stealthily hides behind Joonmyun to the best of his ability, trying to not remember the incident from a couple of days ago.  
  
“Jongin!” Joonmyun shouts, scaring the boy so bad he jumps in his seat with a yelp, the wing in his hand flying in the air before landing on the floor with a loud smack.  
  
Kyungsoo watches worriedly, realizing the boy got startled so bad he must have choked because he’s wheezing now, Jongdae patting him on the back with a long face.  
  
“You guys set me up with a spazz?” he whispers, watching as Jongin finally gets himself under control.  
  
“Oh shush _crybaby_ go say hi,” Joonmyun mutters back making him blush and squeak as he pushes him forward.  
  
Kyungsoo catches himself and awkwardly stands in front of the table, looking at Jongdae for help.  
  
“Um, hi,” a voice interrupts so he looks over and sees Jongin awkwardly standing near him.  
  
Kyungsoo shifts on his feet, finally looking over his date and not being disappointed looks wise. Jongin is quite handsome. His skin is a darker tone than Jongdae’s and he can see the small resemblances that they’re related. Jongin has _pink_ hair, like cotton candy pink and he’s taller than him.  
  
A whole head taller than him that has him frowning, feeling like a kid.  
  
“Hi,” he replies, noticing he has sauce on the corners of his mouth he shifts awkwardly, pointing to his mouth and watching as Jongin turns as pink as his hair before grabbing a napkin.  
  
“S-sorry they said you wouldn’t be here for another twenty minutes and I was really hungry,” Jongin excuses, turning around with his mouth wiped clean and holding his hand out. “I’m Jongin.”  
  
Kyungsoo hesitates, knowing his hands are probably sticky before sighing and moving to shake his hand. A sticky handed date is better than a date that spits while he talks. The latter happened over a year ago.  
  
“I’m Kyungsoo. Nice to meet you,” he mumbles, remembering his manners and then going silent, looking around and blushing when he realizes everyone is staring at them like they’re some sort of amusement.  
  
“I like your glasses,” Jongin blurts, pointing towards them leaving Kyungsoo to go cross eyed, confused at the compliment.  
  
“Um…thank you. They help me see,” he replies, smiling awkwardly and then looking at his feet.  
  
“God they’re so awkward,” Baekhyun blurts gaining both their attention.  
  
Kyungsoo glares meanwhile Jongin pouts.  
  
“Uh, there’s cookies in the other room. Jongin, why don’t you go show Kyungsoo where the cookies are?” Jongdae intervenes, feeling himself grow uncomfortable with how awkward this is all going.  
  
“Oh, okay,” Jongin replies, letting Kyungsoo go first before following after him.  
  
“Jongin complimented his _glasses_ ,” Sunyoung whispers, shaking her head sadly.  
  
“I told you they were perfect for each other,” Baekhyun states proudly before taking Jongin’s untouched wings.  
  
Jongdae sighs.  
  
  
  
  
  
\--  
  
  
  
  
  
Kyungsoo is cute. Really, _really_ , cute, Jongin concludes.  
  
He’s shorter than him and he’s almost positive that if he were to hug the elder, he would fit right underneath his chin. Jongin wants to test this but knows he’d probably get his ass kicked for even trying.  
  
He’s already embarrassed himself enough already, choking on chicken.  
  
Kyungsoo’s hair is a bright red that matches his sweater and his glasses are wide and adorable. All in all, Jongin can say he quite likes how Kyungsoo looks.  
  
But he’s kind of terrified of him as well. Mostly because he doesn’t want to screw this date up.  
  
Well, more so than he already did.  
  
“Those have almonds!” he shouts, seeing Kyungsoo grab one of the cookies that Taemin brought. They’re made with almond butter and have tiny chunks of the nut in them. He recalls Jongdae telling him Kyungsoo was allergic and he would very much like _not_ to kill his date tonight.  
  
“Oh….thank you,” Kyungsoo mumbles setting the cookie down with an odd look on his face.  
  
Awkward silence ensues.  
  
“Dance,” he blurts, watching as Kyungsoo tilts his head in confusion. Probably thinking he’s crazy. “I dance. I’m a dance major, you?” he explains, grabbing a piece of chocolate from the candy bowl and unwrapping it while mentally scolding himself.  
  
“Oh. I’m double majoring in music and accounting,” Kyungsoo replies, tugging at his sleeves until his hands disappear and Jongin wants to scream at how cute it looks.  
  
“Accounting? As in _math_?” he questions, feeling a shudder go down his spine just thinking about math.  
  
“Yeah, math,” Kyungsoo replies, grabbing a sugar cookie shaped like a snowman and biting off his head.  
  
“That’s um...,” he trails off, scratching his head and trying not to say anything that might insult the red head. “A weird…combination,” he settles with.  
  
A singing accountant, Jongin tries not to start laughing. He doesn’t do a very good job at it.  
  
“Are…are you _laughing_ at me?” Kyungsoo questions incredulously, eyes widening.  
  
He does a _horrible_ job at it.  
  
“I’m sorry!” he blurts, snickering while trying very hard to sober up because now his date is glaring at him.  
  
“Don’t laugh at me you _stupid_ attractive looking Neanderthal!” Kyungsoo barks out, throwing the rest of his cookie at the younger boy with a huff.  
  
“I’m not laughing at you!” Jongin replies, sobering up because he’s got cookie crumbs on his cheek now and Kyungsoo looks like he’s about to grab more and chuck them at him. “I was just….thinking….about a musical about accounting and I um, I thought it was funny,” he explains, scratching his head and wiping the crumbs off his sweater. When Kyungsoo gives him a hopelessly blank look he starts to mumble.  
  
“Jongdae hyung says I should probably talk more because I think a lot and have all these funny ideas and people think I’m crazy when I start laughing. I’m sorry, no one usually understands my jokes and by the look on your face you don’t get it so I’ll shut up now,” he explains, shifting on his feet and grabbing one of those snowmen cookies.  
  
Kyungsoo grabs a new cookie, this time a reindeer.  
  
“It was me, the person singing from the drop off box in the library. It was me. I was in there because I cried when you called. And my dates always go horribly so I’m just going to take this cookie and hide underneath the table,” he rushes out, doing as he says and getting to his knees and crawling away.  
  
Jongin watches with a pout, confused he stares at his cookie before shrugging and following after the older male.  
  
Once he’s underneath the table he has to blink a couple of times to get used to the lighting, he hits his head several times but eventually he’s sitting by the wall along with Kyungsoo who’s eyeing him apprehensively.  
  
“What are you doing?” Kyungsoo questions quietly, confused that this kid literally got on all fours just to come sit with him.  
  
He was planning on moping, because Jongin seems so _cute_ and sweet and he’s just a disaster magnet. He would probably ruin their date somehow and he doesn’t want to. He wants the date to go well, but he knows it won’t. So he planned on just stopping it all together, he’d sit down here and sneak an occasional cookie while playing Tetris all night.  
  
But yet here Jongin is, crouching just so he doesn’t hit his head and sitting next to him underneath a table.  
  
“I uh, c-cried after you hung up on me, erm, because I thought maybe your dog died and I really like dogs,” Jongin stutters out, his voice going up in pitch and cracking all over the place. “And you really _do_ have a nice voice.”  
  
Kyungsoo stares at the younger boy, trying to fight back a smile so he ducks his head.  
  
“You cried?” he questions, letting out a little laugh.  
  
“You sounded really distraught okay,” Jongin whines, pouting when Kyungsoo giggles at him. “I thought you didn’t want to come to the party with me.”  
  
“I was watching a movie. It always makes me cry,” Kyungsoo explains, shifting in his seat and nibbling on his cookie. “I thought you would text, not call,” he mumbles out. “I don’t do well with phone calls or dates for that matter.”  
  
“Yeah, Jongdae told me,” Jongin mumbles, scratching his head and shrugging, “Neither do I though. So it’s okay. This doesn’t have to be a date if you don’t want it to be. I just wanted to go with someone because, well, everyone else is together with someone and it’s kind of lonely, sometimes,” he replies honestly.  
  
He wouldn’t have minded a date, but what he really wanted was someone to spend time with.  
  
“R-really? You don’t mind?” Kyungsoo replies, nibbling on his lip. Jongin finds it absolutely adorable, a light blush blossoming on his cheeks.  
  
“Really, we can always go on a date later? If you want that is!” he wheezes, shifting in his seat and feeling his hands start to sweat.  
  
“O-okay, that sounds nice,” Kyungsoo replies, giving him a smile which he returns.  
  
When it’s silent for more than what’s deemed normal Jongin coughs, scratching his head and moving around.  
  
“You wanna hear my squidward impersonation?” he blurts, watching as Kyungsoo tilts his head.  
  
Kyungsoo shrugs.  
  
  
  
  
  
\--  
  
  
  
  
  
Joonmyun’s party, is a success, at least in Jongdae’s book it is. Everyone has a good time and not once does Jongin come to him for help. So he assumes his and Kyungsoo’s date is going well.  
  
The problem is that every time he asks someone if they’ve _seen_ either Kyungsoo or Jongin, he gets told no.  
  
No one has apparently seen them since they went off to eat cookies together earlier. So now Jongdae is concerned.  
  
“Have you seen Kyungsoo and Jongin?” he questions Minseok, the elder along with his boyfriend sitting near the fireplace and from the looks of it, drinking hot chocolate.  
  
“No? Is he okay? Is the date going well?” Minseok pesters, looking around.  
  
“I uh, don’t know,” Jongdae replies honestly, rubbing his forehead and looking around as well, trying to spot the red head and his pink haired date.  
  
“You don’t know where they are?” Minseok questions incredulously, standing up and looking around with worried eyes.  
  
Jongdae rolls his own, “I’m sure they’re around here somewhere…”  
  
“What if they’re…. _you know_ ,” Luhan hints, winking obnoxiously and doing a lot of hand motions that makes Jongdae feel like he’s back in grade school.  
  
“They are not doing… _that!_ Kyungsoo is a _virgin_ , an _innocent_ child who’s never even been kissed!” Minseok screeches, whacking Luhan on the arm for even insinuating it.  
  
Jongdae rolls his eyes, because Kyungsoo is far from innocent, he’s just so socially awkward he’s never managed to be kissed, let alone have _sex_ with someone.  
  
“Jongin can’t even manage to look at porn,” he scoffs, shaking his head and looking around some more. “I’m sure the date is going well and they’re just sitting somewhere talking.”  
  
“Or the date went horribly wrong and they’re both moping under a table somewhere,” Luhan supplies, getting glared at by both him and Minseok.  
  
But, it does sound plausible, considering that it’s been three hours since he last saw the two.  
  
He and Minseok share a look before sighing.  
  
“You check the tables in the other room?”  
  
“Deal,” Minseok nods, heading towards the other room while he turns around and checks under the table closest to him.  
  
When he doesn’t see anyone he checks the one nears the doors and then heads towards the table with the cookies.  
  
Hearing a sniffle he pauses, feeling his stomach drop he gets to his knees, lifting the tablecloth and nearly falling over when he sees _both_ Kyungsoo and Jongin huddled together near the wall. Kyungsoo has his phone in his hands and set in-between him and Jongin.  
  
When they take notice of him they both look up with wide eyes, Jongin’s looking ready to spill tears.  
  
“What the _hell_ are you two _doing_?” he questions incredulously, knowing that they’re both weird in their own ways but right now they’re _hiding underneath a table_.  
  
“We’re watching a movie,” Kyungsoo replies, setting his phone down like it’s nothing and then looking at Jongin. “It’s okay to cry,” he whispers to the younger boy and Jongdae can only watch in horror as Jongin starts bawling his eyes out, ducking his head to rest on Kyungsoo’s shoulder.  
  
“It’s just so sad!” Jongin wails as Kyungsoo pats his head. “He just _died!_ ”  
  
Jongdae groans, “Do Kyungsoo are you _serious_? You showed him that movie?”  
  
“I thought this was a kid’s movie!” Jongin hiccups, nearly curling in onto Kyungsoo who just soothes him by rubbing his back.  
  
“Could you bring him some tissues and a glass of water?” Kyungsoo questions him so he rolls his eyes, crawling away and doing as the younger boy says.  
  
“Did you find them?” Minseok questions, rushing up to him as he grabs some of the napkins on one of the tables.  
  
“Unfortunately. They really _are_ meant for each other but don’t tell Baekhyun he was right, it’ll only inflate his ego,” Jongdae grumbles, grabbing a water bottle and then heading back, Minseok on his trail.  
  
“Right, so Kyungsoo’s okay?” Minseok questions so he nods, shooing the elder off and then going towards the cookie table.  
  
“I have your stuff,” he voices, not going to get down on his knees again for the two socially awkward crybabies.  
  
This time it’s Jongin who pops out, eyes a little red but his crying has calmed down.  
  
“Thank you, hyung,” Jongin chirps, taking the water and napkins. “But um, do you think, maybe you could grab that mistletoe hat too? He laughed at my SpongeBob impersonation,” Jongin whispers cheerfully, looking a little love drunk.  
  
Jongdae can’t help but smile, “Yeah, okay,” he replies.  
  
  
  
  
  
\--  
  
  
  
  
  
At the end of the day Jongdae hears from Jongin that the mistletoe hat was _not_ a good idea; he accidentally kissed Kyungsoo’s nose before he accidentally kissed his glasses and by then he was too embarrassed to try again.  
  
But, he’ll get it right next time, he says. On their real date.  
  
Jongdae figures it should go well, they'll probably out embarrass each other.


End file.
